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My husband and I decided to do a quick jaunt to Royce Lakes on Friday/Saturday. We've been near the lakes many times - and circled them last August - but have never stopped. Finally fixed that! Here's a quickie recap:
Friday was a wee bit humid thanks to the weather and it reminded me why I moved away from the midwest many moons ago. Not sure which is worse with Pine Creek - hot and sunny or overcast and humid? We're early birds, so neither bother us too much to be honest. Not much to report on the way up other than water was plentiful and we were very thankful for the breeze to keep the skeeters at bay. We also had some on/off rain, but most of that started once we got to the lakes (around 1pm). The weather looked like it wanted to turn ugly at times, but just ended up being a mix of rain/sun and a bit of stiff wind. I had to laugh at the marmot at the lake we camped at because I've never seen one with so much pep in its step! We were able to wander around the lakes and had a great afternoon/evening. Bonus points for being the only ones at that particular lake - which was nice after seeing some "questionable" camping along the trail.
Saturday started off pretty chilly thanks to the wind that picked back up again. Quickly warmed and was downright hot when we were hiking out. Wish we could have stayed up high for a few extra days to avoid the heat at home. I have to admit, I was impressed with the number of folks we saw start the Pine Creek trail mid-day on our way out, but to each their own (and I know some folks might not have much of a choice too). Overall, great trip and happy to have finally made it to Royce Lakes! My husband also confirmed once again that I'm an oddball and am faster on the uphill than the downhill.
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@PBJames thanks!! Hope you have a great time while you’re in the area! We meant to pop over to Royce while on our Bear Lakes lollipop last summer, but decided to be a bit more chill that trip (normally not our style). My quads were craving a workout this past weekend
Hi Astro,
Comforting to see that a bit of snow survived: great photos, and yes, Feather really does light up with the long rays! I assume you cut across that wide open plateau from Pine Creek pass to reach the Royce lakes and if so, were you suitably impressed with the endless cairns? They seem to multiply every time I go through there! Cameron (PS: I spent my early teens getting eaten by skeeters in northern WI while pushing canoes through lake country and the Sierra literally rocks for me).
Good choice during the peak of mosquito season. Always been a majority of backpackers that start lugging their packs late morning to early afternoon, even up some of the brightest, warmest trails. Just like watching myriad bumper to bumper vehicles poor into parks like Yosemite, not in early morning when road are near empty but again late morning into early afternoon. Obviously haven't come to understand how much more pleasant such is in cool early mornings.
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More !@#$ building cairns to kick over? Who is still building extra unnecessary ducks and cairns and why? Are these kids following their misquided parents, social media newbie twentysomethings, or those older getting in touch with their inner boyscout boyhoods?
@cgundersen It was indeed nice to see some snow is still surviving - more than we expected even! Was really happy to get some morning light too… our last trip in the area we had phenomenal alpenglow even morning and evening! Funny story with the cairns - we actually didn’t see too many (or just weren’t looking hard enough for them lol). We just kinda aimed and went since it’s you’d have to try pretty hard to miss the destination. I’m from Michigan originally, so skeeters and humidity seem to remind me of home a little too much
@SSSdave Cool mornings are the best for sure - especially with hiking. I guess my early commute to work and super early mornings during ski season just make it easier for me to be an early bird all year!
Here's a quickie recap:
Not sure which is worse with Pine Creek - hot and sunny or overcast and humid? We're early birds, so neither bother us too much to be honest. Not much to report on the way up other than water was plentiful and we were very thankful for the breeze to keep the skeeters at bay. We also had some on/off rain, but most of that started once we got to the lakes (around 1pm). The weather looked like it wanted to turn ugly at times, but just ended up being a mix of rain/sun and a bit of stiff wind. I had to laugh at the marmot at the lake we camped at because I've never seen one with so much pep in its step! We were able to wander around the lakes and had a great afternoon/evening. Bonus points for being the only ones at that particular lake - which was nice after seeing some "questionable" camping along the trail. 
I’m from Michigan originally, so skeeters and humidity seem to remind me of home a little too much 